pedal bearings -- standard or not?

[Dvt]

I'd like to know if there is a standard setup for ball bearings in a pedal. A de facto standard
exists for the sizes and number of balls in wheels and bottom brackets, and I hope the same exists
for pedals.

Here's my story. I opened up a long-forgotten cage pedal last night. It was used long and hard from
about 1992 to 1998, and I maintained it not. The grease was all gone and when I loosened the cones,
1/8" balls spilled out everywhere. I counted a total of 23, but I may have lost a few of those tiny
balls. And the two sides of the pedal don't appear symmetric, so I don't know how many of those
balls go in each side.

In case it matters, it's a Sakae Low Fat MTP-129 pedal. If all else fails, I can try to be
extremely careful with the second pedal and count the bearings as they come out. Thanks for your
help on this oddity.

Dave dvt at psu dot edu

 

[Arthur Shapiro]

In article <[email protected]>, "dvt" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I'd like to know if there is a standard setup for ball bearings in a pedal.

Forgive me if I'm oversimplifying things, but:

Isn't the standard means of determining the correct number of ball bearings simply to fill the
available space and then to remove one bearing?

Art

 

[Dave Thompson]

I don't believe there is a 'standard' for pedal bearings, just as there is no 'standard' for pedals.

The easy, and correct, way to figure out the number of ball bearings used (assuming you have the
correct size) is to put balls in the race until it is filled, then remove one ball.

And use good grease! "dvt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'd like to know if there is a standard setup for ball bearings in a
pedal.
> A de facto standard exists for the sizes and number of balls in wheels and bottom brackets, and I
> hope the same exists for pedals.
>
> Here's my story. I opened up a long-forgotten cage pedal last night. It was used long and hard
> from about 1992 to 1998, and I maintained it not. The grease was all gone and when I loosened the
> cones, 1/8" balls spilled out everywhere. I counted a total of 23, but I may have lost a few of
those
> tiny balls. And the two sides of the pedal don't appear symmetric, so I don't know how many of
> those balls go in each side.
>
> In case it matters, it's a Sakae Low Fat MTP-129 pedal. If all else
fails,
> I can try to be extremely careful with the second pedal and count the bearings as they come out.
> Thanks for your help on this oddity.
>
> Dave dvt at psu dot edu

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Wed, 22 Jan 2003 12:41:01 -0500, dvt wrote:

> I'd like to know if there is a standard setup for ball bearings in a pedal. A de facto standard
> exists for the sizes and number of balls in wheels and bottom brackets, and I hope the same exists
> for pedals.

Does there? I have two rear wheels. They use different numbers of different-sized bearings (Campy
Chorus and Campy Record). Shimano front hubs use different size (# I can't recall) from Campy. No
real standard there. For loose cup&cone bottom brackets the 11-ball 1/4" is kind of determined by
the shell size -- except maybe for larger axles.

Campy pedals used to use 5/32 balls -- and a lot of them. Cheapies used
1/8.
>
> Here's my story. I opened up a long-forgotten cage pedal last night. It was used long and hard
> from about 1992 to 1998, and I maintained it not. The grease was all gone and when I loosened the
> cones, 1/8" balls spilled out everywhere. I counted a total of 23, but I may have lost a few of
> those tiny balls. And the two sides of the pedal don't appear symmetric, so I don't know how many
> of those balls go in each side.

No, they are not the same.
>
> In case it matters, it's a Sakae Low Fat MTP-129 pedal. If all else fails, I can try to be
> extremely careful with the second pedal and count the bearings as they come out. Thanks for your
> help on this oddity.
>

Why don't you get new bearings, and some grease, and try to pack the balls in there. You want as
many as the race will hold without binding. Simple as that.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a _`\(,_ | conclusion. --
George Bernard Shaw (_)/ (_) |